Have you ever been curious about what many of the odd bulbs are in the bulb catalogs? Did you ever try to get a few new ones each year? It’s fun if you can get up on your nerve to order those things you have never seen. Order several different species and varieties of each … Read more
Oriental poppies are one of our hardiest and most colorful perennials. So many clumps 20 years old are still giving brilliance to gardens each spring. Unfortunately, many gardeners consider them hard to grow because losses have resulted from spring planting or planting pot-grown plants with poor root systems. Lack of good drainage (necessary) accounts for … Read more
Are you hesitant about growing lilies in our Mid-American climate, where drought, 100° degrees Fahrenheit, and high winds characterize most summers? You needn’t be, for some lilies, “toughies” on my list, will grow for you as easily as petunias. There is no pampering in my acclimatization garden, where I have tested plants for nursery workers … Read more
Like to try your hand at lily hybridizing? Here’s how. Select the flower to be pollinated and remove the anthers or pollen-producing male organs before any pollen has been shed. Since lilies usually do not shed pollen until they start to open, it is advisable to choose buds that will open the next day and … Read more
Are you looking for a “sure thing” in summer flowers? Or does a plant that challenges your ingenuity to make it grow to have more appeal? You’ll find both among the native lilies of eastern North America. About a third, or eight, of the lilies native to this continent, are found growing naturally in the … Read more
We, gardeners, are human. We want to sway in the hammock when hot days come and watch the garden bloom. No flowers are better suited to this resistance to work than the wildflowers that arrive at their peak of beauty in the summer sun. Every color of the rainbow, every form and fragrance can be … Read more
Beautiful white flowers that open after dark and close as the sun rises are interesting and unusual enough. But also consider that such flowers may be sweetly scented, with sepals of red, purple, or green, and I’m sure you will agree that the gardener has something to be enthusiastic about. Hylocereus Group The most popular … Read more
The pansy is of easy culture, blossoms profusely for months, and maybe had in many colors from delicate pastel shades to rich, dark tones, some solid colors, others blotched, penciled, or veined. There are varieties so ruffled that they appear almost double. Those with “faces” seem all the more friendly. Fresh, new crop seed is … Read more
If an adage fits a specific situation, “Don’t plant a five-dollar tree in a two-bit hole,” applies to lily planting. In other words. don’t plant a good lily bulb in bad soil. Tulips or gladiolus might grow if planted that way, but I warn you. Lilies are different. However, one thinks you will agree that … Read more
If you are growing lilies for the first time, you are entering one of the most exciting and rewarding of all garden adventures. Until recently, lilies were considered exotic and difficult plants, suitable only for the expert gardener or estate owner. With few exceptions, they were natural species, each of which, to thrive satisfactorily, required … Read more